Surgar Land vs Pearland (Houston, Baytown: homes, to buy, elementary school)

[texas7]

Originally Posted by honeyinhouston

Crime is everywhere. Houston, being the 4th largest city in the U.S. will have crime as well as it's suburbs.....

Not sure that rolling eyes is appropriate. As a lifelong Houstonian, I can tell you that crime has increased big time over the past 2 or 3 years. And a different type of crime than we had previously. Yeah, Houston had crime and I am not saying it didn't but it was nowhere near the level it is now.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by newhomebuyer80

ok. Lets not confuse the OP guys.

Everyone knows that Sugarland is better than Pearland. Just by the people moving in there. Standard of living.

Actually - if it is better "just by the people moving there" then it probably isn't better. Doesn't do much for me to live where others think they are personally better than others. Of course, if an an area is better due to amenties, education, aesthetics, etc. that is different than saying "the people"

[Wysiwyg]

has anyone tried googleing
alief "home invasion"
pearland "home invasion"
sugar land "home invasion"

it *seems* alief is safer LOL

i also dont see the houston ghettos in the news here
Alief News

sure crime of all sorts is everywhere LOL

[Timnwendy]

Originally Posted by texas7

when I lived in Pearland - my homeowners and auto insurance was quite a bit lower than most because it was Brazoria County vs. Harris County.

You forgot about the windstorm insurance, right? If you want to get a mortgage to buy a house in Brazoria Co., you have to buy windstorm coverage.

It isn't cheap, and after the claims from Ike it's going to go way up this year.

[bostoner]

Originally Posted by tstone

Yeah, but simply saying "crime is everywhere" and "" can be construed as a "bury head in sand" attitude that too many Houstonians adhere to. The deeper into town you go, the more likely you hear this silly statement. There is simply too much apathy, and not enough cohesiveness.

www.houstoncrimemaps.com

Yeah, crime happens everywhere but you can easily see where it is concentrated and where it is remarkably absent, in Houston proper anyway. It would be helpful if we had a "metro" map that included all 5 or 6 counties in the region. That way all the bad rumors flying around regarding Pearland can be quelled once and for all.

Yes, which bears repeating and clarifying because that map is very misleading for people looking to relocate who will think that everything on that map is City of Houston when it is not. It's a false illusion that crime is "remarkably absent" in those areas when this map culls exclusively from City of Houston statistics. Many of those areas are not in the City of Houston and have their own police departments. As dccoolbro noted, places like Pearland and Sugar Land would not be included on crime maps for the City of Houston, nor would a lot of other areas on that map not served by HPD. Like test scores, it is a useful tool only if it is not relied on exclusively because it doesn't tell the whole story, especially for newcomers who don't know the boundaries of or understand the differences between the City of Houston, the Greater Houston area, ETJ's, incorporated and unincorporated areas, island cities like Bellaire and the Memorial Villages, Harris County, etc.

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by houstoner

Yes, which bears repeating and clarifying because that map is very misleading for people looking to relocate who will think that everything on that map is City of Houston when it is not. It's a false illusion that crime is "remarkably absent" in those areas when this map culls exclusively from City of Houston statistics. Many of those areas are not in the City of Houston and have their own police departments. As dccoolbro noted, places like Pearland and Sugar Land would not be included on crime maps for the City of Houston, nor would a lot of other areas on that map not served by HPD. Like test scores, it is a useful tool only if it is not relied on exclusively because it doesn't tell the whole story, especially for newcomers who don't know the boundaries of or understand the differences between the City of Houston, the Greater Houston area, ETJ's, incorporated and unincorporated areas, island cities like Bellaire and the Memorial Villages, Harris County, etc.

thats what i've been saying. the worst part is when the area code youre researching lands just beyond houston city limits. every statistic will tell you your zipcode does a better job at keeping the bad people away so this is the right place for your family. AS my friend is finding out year after year (he lives 'near cypress' in a 200k neighborhood) he sees more crime than I do in Alief and in just a few houses away from him, his house appraisal goes down every year(!), cant reason with HOA on getting gates/walls (too late?), they got window bars now etc . and he has to pay $80 extra for water every month(Aquatex). and now for some odd reason home insurance in their area doubled due to Ike.

[georgecogirl]

If schools are the most important be sure to check out www.greatschools.net to check the schools out. Be careful about the new schools. Just because they are new does not mean they will be great schools. Make sure you look at the middle and high schools. Is is relatively easy to have an exemplary elementary school. There is a huge decrease in the number of middle and high schools that are exemplary. The Houston Chronicle just had an article on the top high schools in the Houston area. It may be a few years before your kids are in high school but it goes by faster than what you think. I wouldn't want to buy another house because I didn't check the high school out. Some area don't have private high schools (Pearland doesn't).

[noeltsang]

I would say sugar land is a better choice for the followign reasons
1) you don't have to buy flood insurance in sugar land where Pear land requires you to buy the windstorm and flood insurance
2) sugarland is a more mature community and has more limited supply of land i.e. better appreciation potential down the road
3) sugarland provides better access to energy corridor, medical center, galleria, southwest part of the town and down town. vs Pearland provide good access to downtown while a little bit further away from other area
4) sugarland has solid good schools
5) for sugarland community, I would recommend to look at New Territory, Telfair, Riverstone

[asonnier]

Pearland does has a private school that includes high schoolers. It is called Eagle Heights Academy.

[asonnier]

If you are coming up 288 from Highway 6 don't take the 518 exit. Take the CR 59 exit or Southfork. If you want to go to Town Center take a left on CR 59 (southfork). Take that down to Kirby (not labeled well) and take a right. Town center will be on the right after you pass a neighborhood. If you want to go to Target then take a right on CR 59 (southfork) and turn left on CR 94 (first stop sign, soon to be light). Take that down almost to end; you can either turn left into where the Cinemark is and then follow around to shopping or continue up to where Randalls is and turn into shopping lot there. I do this weekly and avoid the mess of traffic jams.